Web 2.0 Class: Part 2

Welcome to the second post in a the Web 2.0 Class Series. Remember you can find all posts from this series by clicking the category “Web 2.0 Class” in the Topics section.

Photo cred: Aftab Uzzaman

What better way to kick off the second class meeting than to call for student feedback, a true representation of social media values? Through the use of MyCourses, a platform (I am not particularly fond of) that has recently been adopted by SUNY Geneseo and schools like Harvard, Brown and RIT, Professor Horn asked the students to respond to a few questions.

A few different web 2.0 technologies were used to gather student feedback…

1. Discussion Board (Forum): What are 3 things you would like to do/learn in this class?

I loved this idea. I didn’t love that myCourses doesn’t allow students to view comments on a post so whoever didn’t start a new post could not be seen by their classmates. Regardless, in a brand new class with basically no set schedule or other examples to depend on, it is important that the professor is addressing things that the students want to learn, and not just what the professor wants to teach.

Student responses included:

How do websites make money without selling anything?

What is a podcast and how do you create one?

How to search / use the web effectively

Paypal (A little odd)

How to utilize blogs / blogging

How to build a website (the class won’t be doing much of this)

2. Blog Post:What are 3 things you DON’T want to do/learn in this class?

I also loved this and since only professors can post a blog entry, the students had to respond in comments that were viewable by anyone, avoiding the issue with the discussion board.

Student responses included:

Most popular: Learn less about the mechanics of these services and more about how they can be applied to business

Less lecture and more hands-on

Spend less time on programs that aren’t commonly used and more on programs that are popular / used frequently

(I disagree. You never know how much relevance a program has until you use it. For example, Twitter isn’t popular on the Geneseo campus but has value in business applications)

3. Blog Post:Post your gmail address.

Pretty straightforward. The class will be using google apps to collaborate on projects.

4. Wiki:What is Web 2.0?

GREAT idea.A wiki was set up for students to write what they think web 2.0 means. This isn’t meant to be answered immediately but rather something that will develop throughout the semester as students become more familiar with web 2.0 concepts. It will be very interesting to see how students’ answers will change over time.

Professor Horn told the students what he wants to cover in the class, taking into account students’ responses. He also explained that he is open to letting students take on individual projects if they’re especially interested in a specific topic.

His topics to be covered included:

Websites: findability / usability

How websites make money on the internet

Mashups

Intellectual property rights / open source software

Wikis / collaboration tools

Instant messaging in the office / workspace

In the last class, a few different technology trends / topics were discussed.

The development of 3d movies to slow down movie piracy (Interesting…never thought about that before)

The decrease of marijuana use among teens as a result of web 2.0 / social media. New technologies making it easier to communicate with friends online. Teens can’t smoke if they’re on their computer at home with their parents. (Also very interesting.)

Finally, the long debate that I was happy to see many students had very strong opinions about; MIT is making all their professors podcast their classes and make their notes available online. How is this going to effect other schools / professors? Will online courses completely replace the physical college campus? You can expect a blog post on this topic soon.

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5 Responses to Web 2.0 Class: Part 2

1)As far as making money with a web site, Many are trying to figure this out! My mantra in starting a self-funded web site is: worry about traffic, and then worry about the money. I will let you know if it works. I have set a benchmark of 24 months up and running.
2) Craigslist has allowed me personally to branch out into a new business (mattress sales) from an existing enterprise (warehousing)without any out of pocket expense. We get product, post online, and sell at a profit.
Thanks for some insightful and relevant information.